Viol
in music, a stringed instrument a little larger than the violin; it was furnished with five or six strings, had a fretted finger board, and was played with a bow. The viol is found depicted in MSS. as early as the 11th century. 7. In France , Germany, and Italy the number of the strings varied between three and six. It is supposed that they were tuned in fourths and thirds. A chest of viols consisted of six instruments of various sizes, the smaller ones were called treble, the next mean, and the larger bass viols. The treble viol was somewhat larger than the violin, and the music for it was written in the treble clef; the mean (or tenor) viol was about the same length and breadth as the modern tenor violin, but was thicker in the body; its music was written in the C in the c clef. The bass viol was much about the same size as the violoncello, and the music for it was written in the bass clef.